The Audit Podcast - Ep 243: Retired CAE Summer Series – Part 1 w/ Robert Brewer

Host: Trent Russell
Guest: Robert (Bob) Brewer, Former Chief Audit Executive
Release Date: June 9, 2025

Episode Overview

In the kickoff to the Retired CAE Summer Series, host Trent Russell talks with Bob Brewer, a career CAE who recently retired after over 30 years in the internal audit and compliance world. The episode aims to provide honest, post-career insights from a former top executive—covering political realities, personal development, career regrets (or lack thereof), and essential advice for auditors everywhere. Key questions revolve around lessons learned, maneuvering organizational politics, invaluable career skills, and what Bob would record as the first and last chapters of his professional story.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Staying Current After Retirement (03:11)

• Bob spends more time on travel sites now, but remains intellectually curious and tries to stay up-to-date on technological advances relevant to audit, such as quantum computing.
  • “AI is big. But...it seems like quantum computing seems to be the next thing coming down the pike that people will be using on an extensive basis.” – Bob (03:23)

2. Reflections on a 30+ Year Career (05:08)

• Perspective on Regrets:
  • Bob attributes his successful career to following great mentors and focusing on the future rather than dwelling on the past.
  • “I'm not the type of person that likes to look back and say, 'Oh, I wish I would have done this, I wish I would have done that...' I'm a more future looking guy.” – Bob (05:30)

3. Resources for Auditors Tracking Emerging Risks (06:54)

• Valuable Sources:
  • Big Four firms’ publications, IIA leadership, and especially CAE roundtables.
  • Roundtables provide insight beyond the theory—yielding practical, experience-driven knowledge on implementing new trends.
  • “All the theory, you know, then comes the practical goal where you got to implement and do it and, you know, the issues you're running into—that’s where, you know, I found real value in roundtables.” – Bob (08:41)

4. Political Realities: Navigating Organizational Politics (10:57)

• A High-Stakes Whistleblower Case:
  • Bob recounts handling a whistleblower complaint that led to an SEC investigation and heavy lawyer involvement.
  • Key advice: Stick to the facts, keep emotion out, and remember your audience.
  • “I had opinions along the way, but I've kept my opinions to myself and dealt with the facts and presented the facts and kept all the discussions fact based...” – Bob (11:53)
  • On dealing with the SEC: “...be 100% honest, forthright...If you do that, you’ll get respect from them. It goes, at the end of the day, better for the company and all the people involved.” – Bob (12:59)

5. The Importance & Rarity of Such Events (17:07)

• Such severe situations are rare in a typical CAE’s career.
  • “Going in front of the SEC is not something that's going to happen to everyone...Hopefully you have a great attorney.” – Bob (17:10)

6. #1 Advice for Every Auditor: Communication Skills (20:10)

• Beyond technical expertise, Bob urges auditors to prioritize both written and oral communication.
  • “If you're going to progress and have a successful career, concentrate on your communication skills, both written and oral... If you don't know how to present it...it's of no value.” – Bob (20:12)
• On academia’s shortcomings:
  • “That's not something that the universities and...many other schools, top notch rated schools, they don't spend much time on developing the students' communication skills. And that's so important.” – Bob (21:11)

7. Cultivating Communication: Training & Practical Experience (22:23)

• Recounts a formative, intense week-long public speaking course arranged by his employer, which paid dividends even though it was “no fun.”
  • “Every word you said was critiqued...at the end of the week, it was so much different.” – Bob (22:36)
• Practical tip: Present at IIA or AICPA meetings to hone skills in a supportive environment.

8. Bookends of Bob’s Career: First and Last Chapters (25:50)

• First Chapter – "The Turnaround Guy":
  • Bob specialized in transforming underperforming audit departments through focus on people, processes, and technology.
  • People are the hardest—and most rewarding—element. He often relied on team members self-selecting out if unwilling to align with new standards.
    • “If those [employees] are all high performers, I wouldn't have been there...I found the reward is in the development of people.” – Bob (27:02; 28:13)
• Last Chapter – "You Own Your Career":
  • Emphasizes owning your own progress and goals.
    • “You are responsible for your career. Your boss is not responsible for your career. The audit committee is not responsible for your career.” – Bob (29:05)
  • Find what you love, set goals, and pursue continuous improvement—otherwise risk becoming stagnant.
    • “Do we always have to do it better? And I said, yes, because if you don’t do it better...that’s how you become extinct.” – Bob (30:28)

9. Lessons Learned (the Hard Way) (31:18)

• Both testifying to the SEC and intensive communication training were “brutal”—but growth always follows difficulty.
  • Host sums up: “If you don't go through kind of the suck, then you're probably not going to be better on the other end of it.” – Trent (32:32)

10. Parting Wisdom: Love What You Do (33:10)

• Find passion in your career. Accountants and auditors see all sides of a business—leverage this perspective to find the discipline you truly enjoy.
  • “If you don't love it, you're not going to put that extra effort in on a consistent basis.” – Bob (33:27)
  • “The people that get into...executive management, they love what they're doing and they do it and they put the extra effort in to be successful at it.” – Bob (34:26)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On communication:
  “You can come up with some of the greatest findings...but if you don’t know how to present it and work with people on getting it implemented, it’s of no value.” – Bob (20:15)
• On politics:
  “Stick to the facts...Let the other people draw the conclusions, because it wasn’t my job to draw the conclusion.” – Bob (12:00)
• On responsibility:
  “You are responsible for your career. Your boss is not responsible for your career...If it hasn't worked out, you know, it's because you didn't do something right.”—Bob (29:06)
• On growth:
  “Probably got that from my time in the manufacturing world. You're always...stressing how you could tweak, you know, a quarter of a percent of a penny out of cost...So that fed into other groups. And I'm a big believer in...constant improving and constant learning.” – Bob (30:50)
• Closing encouragement:
  “Find something you love to do, do it, do it to the utmost best of your ability, and work very hard at it. And you’ll look back and say, wow, I not only had a successful career, I enjoyed doing it. And I had some fun doing it along the way.” – Bob (33:30)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Staying Up-to-Date Post-Retirement: 03:11
• Career Reflections & Regrets: 05:08
• Finding Emerging Trends: 06:54
• Realities of Organizational Politics: 10:57
• The SEC Incident & Lessons Learned: 11:53–16:03
• Advice to Auditors: 20:10
• Communication Training & Continual Learning: 22:23–24:07
• The First & Last Chapters of a CAE Career: 25:50–30:28
• General Life & Career Wisdom: 33:10–35:07

Final Thoughts

Bob Brewer’s insights serve as a blueprint for future and current auditors: prioritize communication, embrace challenges as learning opportunities, seek out practical peer knowledge, and above all, intentionally steer your own career. His story demonstrates that sustained success relies as much on people skills and personal ownership as it does technical prowess.